2010 Baseball Season/Off-Season Discussion

[cotis]

Heard and read some rumblings online that the Yankees are looking for a SP before Christmas and are pursuing a few hard. Zambrano (CHC) has said he won't waive his no trade clause, but some seem to think the Yankees are pushing for Josh Johnson (FLA) or Aaron Harang (CIN).

If it's Johnson, we're likely going to give up Montero, Hughes/Joba, and another prospect or two. I just can't see FLA taking NOTHING for their ace.
If it's Harang, then we're looking at a smaller package probably involving Romine, Melky, and another prospect. I don't see the Yanks giving up their 'big chips' for Harang..


thoughts?

[cotis]

Breaking News...

The Yankees have acquired Javier Vazquez from the Atlanta Braves for Melky Cabrera and Mike Dunn, sources told ESPN The Magazine senior writer Buster Olney.

In addition, the Braves are sending right-hander Boone Logan to the Yankees, sources said.

Good deal for the Yankees I think, Javy was good in NY before the ASG then after that he had an injury he didn't tell anyone about.  Plus now this means that there is an opening for possibly Mark DeRosa or maybe even Johnny Damon to come back...

[pilferk]

Breaking News...

The Yankees have acquired Javier Vazquez from the Atlanta Braves for Melky Cabrera and Mike Dunn, sources told ESPN The Magazine senior writer Buster Olney.

In addition, the Braves are sending right-hander Boone Logan to the Yankees, sources said.

Good deal for the Yankees I think, Javy was good in NY before the ASG then after that he had an injury he didn't tell anyone about.  Plus now this means that there is an opening for possibly Mark DeRosa or maybe even Johnny Damon to come back...

They desperately need a left fielder, now.

It'll be odd to see JV back with the Yanks (he pitched for 'em in 2004).  He was NOT great......

Sad to see Melky go, to.

[Falcon]

Trade looks a lil one side from here with the Yanks being the winners.

A power arm that's gonna give them 200 + innings for Cabrera (no clue Dunn is) seems like a good move.  

You can never have enough starting pitching..

Haven't heard anythng about DeRosa and the Yanks although he'd cost about half as much Damon...

[pilferk]

Trade looks a lil one side from here with the Yanks being the winners.

A power arm that's gonna give them 200 + innings for Cabrera (no clue Dunn is) seems like a good move.  

You can never have enough starting pitching..

Haven't heard anythng about DeRosa and the Yanks although he'd cost about half as much Damon...

JV is a nice pickup...but I don't expect a sub 3 ERA in the AL East.  I'd expect him to be a quality #3 or #4 pitcher, with an ERA close to 4.  But he'll eat innings, which is good.

Dunn in a perenial AAA guy who can top out at around 98 mph.  He's a little raw, though..and there's question as to whether he'll ever be a premier big leaguer.

Melky though....he's a solid MLB talent who has the potential to be even more.  Not sure if he'll ever realize it, though.

Right now, out of the gate, the Yanks are the winners in this deal (though I'm sorry to see Melk-man go).  Long term, though...the Braves might make the Yanks look stupid.  We'll have to wait and see.

OH...and this is post #8000!!!!

[cotis]

Breaking News...

The Yankees have acquired Javier Vazquez from the Atlanta Braves for Melky Cabrera and Mike Dunn, sources told ESPN The Magazine senior writer Buster Olney.

In addition, the Braves are sending right-hander Boone Logan to the Yankees, sources said.

Good deal for the Yankees I think, Javy was good in NY before the ASG then after that he had an injury he didn't tell anyone about.  Plus now this means that there is an opening for possibly Mark DeRosa or maybe even Johnny Damon to come back...

They desperately need a left fielder, now.

It'll be odd to see JV back with the Yanks (we pitched for 'em in 2004).  He was NOT great......

Sad to see Melky go, to.

He was 10-5 with a 3.57 ERA before the All-Star Break...

[pilferk]

He was 10-5 with a 3.57 ERA before the All-Star Break...

And then was 4-5 in the 2nd half with a 6.9 ERA.  He was also HORRIBLE in the ALDS and ALCS that year (posting a 9+ ERA).

He wasn't great.

He likewise wasn't great on his last AL team (the White Sox).

[cotis]

He also was injured then, so that could lead to some of it.

He wasn't terrible.

[cotis]

Figured I'd start up a new thread with the season being right around the corner.....

[pilferk]

He also was injured then, so that could lead to some of it.

He wasn't terrible.

He likewise wasn't great on his last AL team (the White Sox).

I don't remember him being injured, in '04, either.  I could be wrong.  I just remember him being "not great".  And frustratingly so.

He wasn't terrible, I agree.   And he'll fit in, just fine, on the back of our rotation.  And he had a REALLY good year, last year...so maybe we'll get a resurgance.  Or maybe that was a fluke.

But I'll take a 14-10 guy with a 3.8 to 4 ERA who can eat innings and keep us in games.

I'm not saying it's a horrible trade....just that, his last time in NYC, it wasn't like he was the guy who pitched in Atlanta last year.  He "wasn't great"....

[cotis]

He also was injured then, so that could lead to some of it.

He wasn't terrible.

He likewise wasn't great on his last AL team (the White Sox).

I don't remember him being injured, in '04, either.  I could be wrong.  I just remember him being "not great".  And frustratingly so.

He wasn't terrible, I agree.   And he'll fit in, just fine, on the back of our rotation.  And he had a REALLY good year, last year...so maybe we'll get a resurgance.  Or maybe that was a fluke.

But I'll take a 14-10 guy with a 3.8 to 4 ERA who can eat innings and keep us in games.

I'm not saying it's a horrible trade....just that, his last time in NYC, it wasn't like he was the guy who pitched in Atlanta last year.  He "wasn't great"....

I agree, he'll be good at the back end of the rotation.

Wasn't he slotted to be the #2 back then? I forget.

[pilferk]

I agree, he'll be good at the back end of the rotation.

Wasn't he slotted to be the #2 back then? I forget.

Yup...now he'll likely take the 4 spot.  MAYBE the 3...but I think that's Andy's spot until he does something to lose it.

The one thing that's going to help us with JV is that...this is a one year deal.  He's playing in a contract year...so if he wants a shot at one last decent contract, this is it.

[GeorgeSteele]

Trade looks a lil one side from here with the Yanks being the winners.

A power arm that's gonna give them 200 + innings for Cabrera (no clue Dunn is) seems like a good move.  

You can never have enough starting pitching..

Haven't heard anythng about DeRosa and the Yanks although he'd cost about half as much Damon...

Reports are that the Braves want Damon, so this deal takes a good chunk of salary off their payroll that they can use to sign him.  So the deal might in effect be Vazquez for Cabrera and Damon. 
 

[pilferk]

Reports are that the Braves want Damon, so this deal takes a good chunk of salary off their payroll that they can use to sign him.  So the deal might in effect be Vazquez for Cabrera and Damon. 
 

My thing is..this deal only makes sense if the Yanks have SOMETHING lined up with one of the corner outfielders (Bay, Holliday, Damon or possibly Nady) that are out there.  Because otherwise....you just gave up your starting LF'er, with no real great OF prospect in your system.  If the season started today (god, I hate that term) you'd have Brett Gardner starting in LF.  Now, Brett's a speedy cat...but he hit right around his weight last year.  I suppose he COULD fill the 9 hole in the lineup, but that weakens your lineup pretty considerably, IMHO.

In that context, the deal is puzzling.  However, if there's a deal with known commodity corner OF'er on the front burner...the deal makes much more sense.

[GeorgeSteele]

Reports are that the Braves want Damon, so this deal takes a good chunk of salary off their payroll that they can use to sign him.  So the deal might in effect be Vazquez for Cabrera and Damon. 
 

My thing is..this deal only makes sense if the Yanks have SOMETHING lined up with one of the corner outfielders (Bay, Holliday, Damon or possibly Nady) that are out there.  Because otherwise....you just gave up your starting LF'er, with no real great OF prospect in your system.  If the season started today (god, I hate that term) you'd have Brett Gardner starting in LF.  Now, Brett's a speedy cat...but he hit right around his weight last year.  I suppose he COULD fill the 9 hole in the lineup, but that weakens your lineup pretty considerably, IMHO.

In that context, the deal is puzzling.  However, if there's a deal with known commodity corner OF'er on the front burner...the deal makes much more sense.

There's rumors that they're looking to trade for Mark DeRosa, who I think would be a nice fit for the Yanks.

[pilferk]

There's rumors that they're looking to trade for Mark DeRosa, who I think would be a nice fit for the Yanks.

Honestly, that would be incredibly puzzling.

You'd be trading for a guy who, offensively, looks almost exactly like Melky...if.  His Career BA is lower than Melky's, and his OB%, Slg% and OPS are only slight upgrades.  He has had years where he's flashed some power, but others where he's looked JUST like Melky (10 to 15 HR's).

MAYBE, defensively, he's an upgrade, but not a marked one.

So you go through all this to ultimately get a guy in LF who's ELEVEN years older than Melky is and who's making, literally, TEN TIMES the money that Melky is making? But isnt' much of a better player?  Why?

To me, that would make no sense.  The only way I (and I'm certainly NOT the GM of the NYY, so what do I know) send Melky to the Braves is if I'm reasonably certainly I can get a LF'er who would make him "obsolete".  DeRosa wouldn't be the answer, for me.

[GeorgeSteele]

^

I think Melky's a little better too, but he also would have gotten a nice raise in arbitration, so the salary discrepancy would narrow a bit.  Taking a step back, accounting for all the Yankee moves so far, it looks like the lineup is not as killer but their pitching depth is improved. 

What I hope is actually going on here is that the Commissioner's office is finally enforcing the rule that every team has to have at least one player in the lineup that flat out sucks.

[pilferk]

^

I think Melky's a little better too, but he also would have gotten a nice raise in arbitration, so the salary discrepancy would narrow a bit.  Taking a step back, accounting for all the Yankee moves so far, it looks like the lineup is not as killer but their pitching depth is improved. 

What I hope is actually going on here is that the Commissioner's office is finally enforcing the rule that every team has to have at least one player in the lineup that flat out sucks.

I don't think Melky was due for arbitration until NEXT year (and I think DeRosa's only signed through the end of next season).  And even with arbitration, the guy would probably have gotten 1 to 1.5 million (based on production and longevity).  That's still a HUGE discrepancy between 4.5 million and 1 to 1.5 million.

Right now, the lineup is slightly worse...depending on who ends up playing LF.  They sign Nady and it's about the same.  They sign Damon or Bay and it's maybe a little bit better (though questionable vs lefties)  They sign Holliday and it's a LOT better.

[GeorgeSteele]

I don't think Melky was due for arbitration until NEXT year (and I think DeRosa's only signed through the end of next season).  And even with arbitration, the guy would probably have gotten 1 to 1.5 million (based on production and longevity).  That's still a HUGE discrepancy between 4.5 million and 1 to 1.5 million.

Was definitely up this year, but he made $1.4M this past season, so I would think he'd be bumped up to at least 2.5... ESPN projected him at 3, if that's worth anything.  But, anyway, yes, still a not-as-good player for more money in DeRosa.

Right now, the lineup is slightly worse...depending on who ends up playing LF.  They sign Nady and it's about the same.  They sign Damon or Bay and it's maybe a little bit better (though questionable vs lefties)  They sign Holliday and it's a LOT better.

I'm starting to think it will be Holliday.  Really, why wouldn't they?  Won't be cheap, but Holliday's the real deal, not much risk there.

[Falcon]

DeRosa is a TYPE A free agent, he's free to sign wherever he wants with cost  a number 1 draft pick as compensation..

Agent is asking 2-3 years ant anywhere from 8-10 mil per... He''s 35 and coming off wrist surgery...

Good "team guy" but obviously in major decline...